Case studies
Case study · ERP · Manufacturing

Custom ERP for a steel fabrication unit in Coimbatore.

SteelEdge Manufacturing ran production, stock and billing on four spreadsheets and a 12-year-old desktop ERP. SpikeSecure built a custom ERP covering production, inventory and GST-compliant invoicing, synced with Tally so the finance team kept its accounting system and lost the manual re-entry.

  • 4spreadsheets replaced
  • 12-year-olddesktop ERP retired
  • Tallysync, no re-entry
  • Phasedgo-live, no downtime
Summary

The project in brief.

SteelEdge Manufacturing is a steel fabrication unit in Coimbatore. Production planning, inventory and invoicing were split across four spreadsheets and a desktop ERP that was 12 years old, with the finance team re-keying data into Tally. SpikeSecure built a custom ERP that runs production, inventory and GST-compliant invoicing in one browser-based system and syncs with Tally. The CEO says the new system replaced the spreadsheets and the legacy ERP and gave the finance team their lives back.

The problem

What the client needed to change.

Each spreadsheet was owned by a different person, none agreed with the others, and the desktop ERP could not produce GST-compliant invoices or talk to Tally. Month-end meant days of reconciliation, stock counts were unreliable and production planning was done from memory.

The objectives were: one system for production, inventory and invoicing; GST-compliant invoices generated from dispatch without re-entry; a clean sync with Tally so statutory accounting stayed where the accountant wanted it; and a rollout that did not stop production.

What we built

Scope and modules delivered.

01

Production module

Work orders, job cards, material issue and consumption, stage tracking and completion, visible to supervisors on the shop floor.

02

Inventory module

Raw material, work-in-progress and finished goods stock with receipts, issues, transfers and stock reports that finally agreed with the physical count.

03

GST-compliant invoicing

Invoices generated from dispatch with GST rates, HSN codes and sequential numbering, plus credit and debit notes.

04

Tally sync

Masters, invoices and receipts pushed to Tally so the accountant works as before and month-end reconciliation disappears.

05

Reporting

Production status, stock valuation, outstanding invoices and management dashboards replacing the spreadsheets.

06

Phased rollout

Inventory and invoicing first, running in parallel with the old system, then production, with on-site training for each group of users.

UX and UI approach

Designed for the people who use it every day.

The users were shop-floor supervisors, storekeepers and a small finance team, none of whom wanted a system that looked like accounting software. Screens were built per role: a job-card view for supervisors on tablets, a stock-movement screen for stores and an invoicing and reports view for finance. Every screen replaced a specific spreadsheet, which made adoption a matter of switching off the old file.

Architecture and integrations

How it is put together.

  • Application: a custom browser-based ERP with role-based access, chosen over ERPNext or Odoo because the unit's process did not map cleanly to standard manufacturing modules.
  • Data: a single relational database for items, work orders, stock movements and invoices, with audit trails on every transaction.
  • Tally integration: masters, sales invoices and receipts synced to Tally so statutory books remain there.
  • Compliance: GST invoice rules, HSN codes and sequential numbering built into the invoicing module.
  • Hosting and ownership: deployed on the client's own cloud account with backups and monitoring; source code owned by the client.

For most manufacturers we recommend ERPNext or Odoo first and custom ERP only where the process demands it; see the ERP development page for how we decide.

Our stack

Tech we work with.

  • Custom ERP
  • Production module
  • Inventory
  • GST invoicing
  • Tally sync
  • Role-based access
  • Cloud hosting
Outcome

The result, in the client's words.

“They replaced four spreadsheets and a 12-year-old desktop ERP. Our finance team got their lives back.”
— Vikram Reddy, CEO, SteelEdge Manufacturing

Client names and outcomes are published with permission and in the client's own words. We do not publish estimates, internal metrics or pricing for individual projects; typical price ranges are on each service page.

FAQ

Questions about this project.

Why custom ERP instead of ERPNext or Odoo?

The unit's production and costing process did not map cleanly to standard manufacturing modules, and the team wanted screens that mirrored their existing spreadsheets. For most manufacturers ERPNext or Odoo is the faster, cheaper route and is what we recommend first.

How does the Tally sync work?

Item and customer masters, sales invoices and receipts are pushed to Tally through its integration interfaces, so the accountant continues to work in Tally and statutory returns are unaffected.

How did you roll it out without stopping production?

Inventory and invoicing went live first in parallel with the old system, then production. Each user group was trained on site, and the old spreadsheet was retired only after a full cycle matched.

What does a manufacturing ERP like this cost?

ERPNext or Odoo core implementations cost ₹2–5 lakh at SpikeSecure, manufacturing ERP ₹5–15 lakh, and custom builds are quoted per scope. Timelines are 8–16 weeks in phases.

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